Earlier this July, the Greenway Conservancy announced Summer on Dewey Presented by Citizens Bank, a new partnership that will bring greater awareness to Dewey Square’s vibrancy, including our cider garden, food trucks, farmers market, public art, and beautiful gardens.

Dewey Square is a place for the community to gather, play, and unwind. Tens of thousands of pedestrians’, neighbors’, and visitors’ #SummerOnDewey will include all that Dewey Square has to offer.

Explore unique cuisines from up to 10 diverse lunch options every weekday from The Greenway’s nationally acclaimed Mobile Eats Program and find local foods at The Boston Public Market seasonal farmers market with more than a dozen proprietors on Tuesdays and Thursdays. From our new Downeast Back Porch on The Greenway, open five days/week, serving craft cider, rotating Massachusetts beers, and wine to the Boston Calling Block Party with music, beer, wine, and lawn games every Thursday, there’s always something new to try.

Summer on Dewey Presented by Citizens Bank celebrated its kick-off on July 11 and will run through September 30. Visitors are encouraged to snap selfies with a large logo temporarily painted on the plaza. For the first time, light pole banners ring the plaza, reinforcing the experience for passers-by.

Citizens will be holding promotions on select Wednesdays throughout the summer on Dewey Square Plaza, where they will be distributing Summer on Dewey wallet cards offering discounts to a variety of our Mobile Eats Program Food Trucks as well as highlight the many activities that Dewey Square has to offer. Stop by every Wednesday in August and on September 12 and 26 to catch Citizens in action on Dewey Square!

Citizens Bank has been a longtime supporter of the Greenway Conservancy. They contributed to the construction of the Greenway Carousel at The Tiffany & Co. Foundation Grove, a new landmark for Boston, and has been an important sponsor of Greenway Conservancy initiatives such as the Park Ranger Program. The Greenway Conservancy honored Citizens Bank’s philanthropic and community leadership at its 2017 Greenway Gala.

]]>http://blog.rosekennedygreenway.org/2018/08/14/summer-on-dewey-presented-by-citizens-bank/feed/0Not all waffles are created equalhttp://blog.rosekennedygreenway.org/2018/08/09/not-all-waffles-are-created-equal/
http://blog.rosekennedygreenway.org/2018/08/09/not-all-waffles-are-created-equal/#commentsThu, 09 Aug 2018 13:41:01 +0000http://blog.rosekennedygreenway.org/?p=5455
The Greenway Mobile Eats program is now in its 9th and largest season yet, with the 2018 season including 35 trucks and trailers across 7 locations! We take pride in knowing our vendors and supporting their businesses. Mayor Walsh said it best when he described how the Greenway Mobile Eats Program, “not only offers residents and visitors alike an array of food options, but also helps support local food entrepreneurs.” With that in mind, we are excited to share the story of one of our food trucks, which is now in its 4th year of vending on The Greenway, Zinneken’s Waffles!

Written by our friends at Zinneken’s Waffles

The story of Zinneken’s starts with Nhon T. Ma, a Belgium native who grew up immersed in the food and the restaurant business. Both of his parents owned a world-renowned restaurant in Belgium, where at the time his mother was the only female Asian chef to attain the coveted Michelin Star Award. Nhon grew up taste testing the food and working alongside his parents. He became friends with Bertrand Lempkowicz while at school in Brussels. They bonded while feasting on Belgian waffles after classes.

Later in 2000, while traveling in the US, they discovered that there were no authentic Belgian waffles sold there. All “Belgian waffles” were different from what they’d known from their childhood. Some were fuzzy imitations, others not even close to the original. These two boys missed their waffles!

Those two boys are now men. Both spent many years working successfully in the business world, but due to their ongoing passion and affinity for waffles, they quickly traded their old jobs for a new endeavor! They decided to take the waffle problem in the United States into their own hands. Their solution was to pack up their cast irons for the U.S. and start baking authentic Liege-style waffles the way they are supposed to be!

They were later joined by Anh-Phi Tran, also a Belgium native who grew up with the smell of Belgian waffles. In college, Anh-Phi drafted an idea about a start-up business and one of his ideas was to bring Belgian food specialties trucks into the City of Boston. After knowing Nhon T. Ma, and sharing a common passion for tennis for a couple of years, he decided to bring the project on the table again: the creation of a mobile point-of-sale of Zinneken’s waffles. The Zinneken’s truck was born to bring the waffle straight to the streets of Boston.

What is your favorite Greenway event?

Our favorite Greenway event has to be the Spring Food Truck Festival! We get to see how food trucks bring the community together and it is a pleasure to serve the public that comes out for this.

What is your favorite Zinneken’s dish / what would you recommend to customers?

The Zinneken’s waffle combination we recommend is probably the Fruit Delight, which consists of healthy fruits of strawberries and sliced bananas, yet has the decadent taste of the Belgian chocolate on the waffle which makes for an amazing combination!

The Zinneken’s waffle truck team are huge fans of the Moyzilla truck for their Japanese fried chicken and dumplings. Who knows, there may be a chicken and waffle collaboration one day if we are parked close enough to them?

Where can you find Zinneken’s on The Greenway?

You can find the Zinneken’s waffle truck at Dewey Square for breakfast on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and at the Carousel on Thursdays during lunch.

Neon signs were once so ubiquitous that it is easy to overlook the fascinating mix of craftsmanship, art, and chemistry which each sign-maker had to master in order to bring blinking bicycle wheels and flashing rockets to Massachusetts roadsides.

Although the shapes and colors vary, all neon signs operate on the same simple scientific principle: an electrical current passes through a sealed glass tube filled with a stable, inert gas, usually neon or argon. The gas in the tube glows when it is charged, emitting a steady stream of light. The illusion of movement on a particular sign, such as the flexing of the Bay State leaf spring, is created by lighting different sections of sealed tubing on simple timers. In darkness, the unlit tubes disappear into the background, while the charged tubes glow with their distinctive glare.

Neon gas was first identified by the Scottish chemist William Ramsay in the late 19th century, who won the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1904. French inventor Georges Claude displayed the world’s first neon lights at the Paris Exposition in 1910. Claude, who was a savvy entrepreneur, as well as a talented chemist, patented his method for capturing and electrifying the several gases used in neon lights. Most of the early neon signs made in France and the United States were made by Claude’s employees and license-holders. Claude, who moved into the field of chemical weapons, allowed his patent to expire in the 1930s. After that, hundreds of sign-makers moved into the business, filling the roadside with colorful, creative illuminated signs.

Today, neon signs are still made by hand, using a blend of ancient glass-blowing technique, 20th-century chemistry, and contemporary design. First, the sign-maker traces an outline of the desired shape or lettering onto paper. The letter forms must be continuous for the gas to flow evenly from one end of the sign to the other. After selecting the desired length of industrially-produced glass tubing, the sign-maker heats the glass over a small flame, bending it to conform precisely to the pre-selected shape. At the same time, he or she must maintain airflow through the tube, usually by blowing through a simple piece of rubber tubing attached to one end of the glass tube. Although the process of bending the glass tubes is relatively simple, it takes years of practice to attain the precision required for the elaborate shapes in many of the sign on display in GLOW.

Once the glass is formed into the desired sequence of curves and straight lines, the sign-maker must shift from artisanal work to the practice of chemistry and physics. First, he or she fuses electrodes to each end of the shaped tube. Then, the tube must be cleansed of all impurities during a heated process called bombardment. Heat is also used to create a vacuum inside the tube; neon or argon gas can then be added to a desired pressure point calculated from the diameter of the glass tube. If the sign-maker executes this process properly, the tube can last for decades.

The glowing line of light on a neon sign is always the result of charged gas particles trapped in a sterile, transparent environment. Carrying the electrical charge from the electrodes at each end of the finished tube, each atom of neon sheds photons which our eyes read as colored light. True neon gas glows reddish-orange, while argon emits a bluish light. Other colors can be made by varying the color of the tubing which houses the gas. Sections of the illuminated tube are painted black or another opaque color to create the illusion of space between connected letters or forms. Finished tubing is then mounted on a sign board, electrical wiring is concealed in discreet metal housing, and the illuminated sign is ready for use. The entire process is illustrated in a wonderful short video by Stereokroma TV, showing master sign-maker Gerald Collard making a neon sign in his Montreal studio.

All the instructors in our program donate their time to bring free and interesting classes to the public. We wanted to share a few stories of the awesome fitness organizations and individuals that work with us to offer ongoing series throughout the summer!

Tango in the Park happens weekly on Saturdays from 6:30p-9:30p through August 25th byUltimate Tango. This open-air Argentine tango lesson, milonga, and performance by local tango masters started 3 years ago inspired by New York City’s Tango in Central Park. Ultimate Tango ownersHernán Brizuela and Anita Flejterteach Argentine tango at their Medford studio (5 High Street) and wanted to bring the romance of dancing in the park to The Greenway.

Our Chinatown neighbor, theWang YMCA, brings Zumba to the park every Monday night from 5:30p-6:30p through August 22. The Wang YMCA has been serving the community since 1914 and has multiple cultural programs and community resources. Their classes are often totally full at their indoor space so expanding to Zumba outside is an exciting partnership for us both!

Local business owner Stefanie Roussellelaunched Boston Health & Wellnessas a mobile company, bringing one-on-one and groups trainings and therapy right to places that need it. She is bringing the tunes of Britney, Whitney, Lady, and Taylor (as she wrote on her application!) to The Greenway with 90s Yoga Flow every Tuesday night from 5:00p-6:00p through August 28.

Micah Loganfounded Next Level Fitness and Wellness in 2003, which has grown to include fitness studios, corporate wellness, and more. Their instructors have been bringing free High Intensity Interval Trainings (HIIT) to The Greenway for several years and are back again this year every Wednesday from 6:45p-7:45p through August 22.

As an exciting new partnership this year, Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt, headquartered just outside of Boston, is an additional supporter of our fitness program. Since hitting store shelves in 2011 as the first to market frozen Greek yogurt, Yasso quickly became one of the fastest-growing dessert brands. This year, they launched their new sports initiative, the Game On! Foundation, and will be popping up with free samples of their iconic bars and new pints on Dewey Square and at a few of our fitness classes throughout the summer.

I went to college in Vermont, but my family lives in the Boston area. This meant frequent bus trips back and forth through Boston via South Station. When heading up to Vermont I’d always get to South Station early to grab food at one of the Dewey Square Food Trucks and walk as far along The Greenway as I could before doubling back to catch my bus north. Knowing nothing about the Conservancy or even the physical extent of the park, I thought The Greenway’s gardens were beautiful, the mural (at the time Seven Moon Junction by Shinique Smith) was fascinating, and people’s enjoyment of the park was so obvious and contagious!

As an undergraduate I studied urban sustainability. I had opportunities to examine placemaking and urban design in Copenhagen, and did a few research projects in Vermont focused on sustainable transportation. After graduating I stayed in Vermont as a transportation researcher, but knew I wanted to come to Boston and started looking for jobs where I could make an impact in an entry-level role, and work at an organization that contributed to the sustainability of my home-city. The Project Coordinator job opened at an opportune time, so I jumped to it!

A couple tasks that are unique to my role are designing and upkeeping a set of Greenway mapping tools, helping design the layout for wide variety of park events, and overseeing the operations and upkeep of the Greenway Carousel at The Tiffany and Co. Foundation Grove. The “Project” part of my title can most directly be contributed to the one-off projects I had an opportunity to work on, a couple being The Z – Boston Zipline we piloted in summer 2017 (the first seasonal zipline in downtown Boston) and the acquisition and maintenance of the PlayCubes play structure in Chinatown Park.

What projects are you working on now?

Our programming season peaks with the nice weather! Mid-summer I’m working with the Programs team to coordinate with our programming partners to host all the events. Right now we’re preparing for one of my favorite events of the season, FIGMENT Boston, which is a participatory arts festival that over a weekend brings 20+ engaging and beautiful art pieces to The Greenway for the public to interact with. I worked to plan the second of three The Coolidge on The Greenway movie nights – Raiders of the Lost Ark. It’s also our busiest time of year at The Greenway Carousel, so I work regularly to make sure it’s ready for all the attention!

Maybe my biggest upcoming project is a personal one – I’ll be transitioning out of my role at the Greenway Conservancy this August and seeking a Masters degree in Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning at Tufts University. My passion for sustainable urbanism has evolved and grown in my time at the Greenway Conservancy, and I’m excited to use my experiences in this role to support my education and action in graduate school.

Tell us about what it takes to keep the Greenway Carousel spinning?

A lot of gears and grease! There’s a lot of teamwork and hard work that goes into keeping the creatures running. We have a small team of experts who all care for different aspects of the ride. The Greenway Carousel is officially an Amusement Device, and we go through a rigorous permitting process with the State to make sure the ride is always ready to run. We have a Certified Maintenance Mechanic, who checks on the carousel every week to do routine maintenance and make repairs when needed. We have a couple artists and painters who touch-up the creatures and decorative features, and a contractor who maintains the music and light display. The operators who run the carousel every day are from another partner, Greenway Carousel Entertainment, who also manage our birthday parties. Carousels are very particular and fairly uncommon, so the people we work with to keep the carousel running know each other well and are the best at what they do.

Lev inside the Greenway Carousel

What is your favorite part of your job?

It’s really rewarding to usher an event or project from beginning to end. As part of the new Carolyn Lynch Garden renovations in the North End I had the chance to coordinate the selection and acquisition of the furniture to that area, and seeing people enjoy the space and use the furniture in expected (and unexpected) ways is wonderful. Building off that, my favorite part of working at the Greenway Conservancy is being part of a dedicated team that stewards a public space so many people treasure. My department puts a lot of time and energy into planned activities in the park, and those are awesome, but sometimes it’s the passive use that thrills me the most. Walking through the park in the evening or on the weekend, it makes me so happy and proud to see the diversity of people using the park for such a variety of activities.

What are you looking forward to most in the upcoming season?

This season is bittersweet being my third summer and fall, and last before I leave for graduate school. I’m excited to re-connect and continue working with programming partners that I’ve been lucky to develop relationships with over a few seasons of events, transition my responsibilities onto others who’ll run with the duties when I’m off to grad school, and most excitingly – visit the park as a guest! I’m especially looking forward to working at Free Fun Friday at the Carousel, and attending the last Coolidge on the Greenway movie night in August as a regular park visitor!

Today we remember our namesake, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy, who would have been celebrating her 128th birthday. The Greenway was named after Rose, who was born and raised in Boston, to honor the many accomplishments of her life.

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy was born on July 22, 1890 in the North End. She is remembered nationally and internationally as an author, activist, philanthropist and the matriarch of the Kennedy family. She was the mother of accomplished children, including President John F. Kennedy, US Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, US Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith, Eunice K. Shriver, Founder of the Special Olympics, and Massachusetts Senator Edward “Ted” M. Kennedy. Rose Kennedy encouraged her children to lead active lives, to study and to contribute to society in every possible way. She inspired their interest in history, politics, geography, arts, and culture.

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy is a beloved Boston icon for her charity, character, and spirit. Her legacy lives on with the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway – a space in Boston that links the city’s rich historical past with a bold vision for the future.

The Greenway carries her name and reflects on her belief that the beauty and nature inherent in urban green spaces helps build our sense of shared community for generations to come. Today, you can celebrate her legacy by visiting our parks or by making a gift to The Greenway in honor of her philanthropic spirit and in support of such an important civic space.

The Greenway’s ribbon of parks was conceptualized and installed by a range of landscape designers, resulting in distinct plant palettes, design elements and care needs in each major park area. We at the Conservancy often think of these major areas as the North End, the Wharf District, Fort Point Channel, Dewey Square, and Chinatown.

Each area is managed differently and has its own specific needs, which prompted The Greenway to launch a Zone Garden program last year! Each Greenway Horticulturist is assigned a zone to work in for the season at the beginning of the year, as well as one or two volunteers to assist them weekly. Having staff work in one area on a weekly basis gives them the opportunity to create long-term strategies for managing their zones, and a regular crew of volunteers ensures that plenty of work can get done!

Now in its second year, The Greenway’s zone garden program has grown to accommodate eight regular volunteers who join us weekly, giving them an opportunity to delve deeply into their assigned area.

Mary Beth, one of Wharf District Zone Volunteers commented, “I have been part of the zone program for two years now. The program has given me a whole new appreciation for The Greenway and the care that goes into it. Especially meaningful have been the opportunities the program affords to learn from and about members of The Greenway team, and to interact with those who visit it.”

Our Horticulture staff had a few words to share about their experiences in the Zone Garden program:

“I always look forward to Monday morning because I know I’ve got great help coming! Having someone like Karen to work through the challenges of urban gardening with me makes it so enjoyable. We both love plants and pass most mornings comparing favorites or new introductions. Sharing a love of gardening with our zone volunteers is the most rewarding part. The Greenway is so fortunate to have such passionate, experienced volunteers come to assist us complete tasks that would otherwise seem daunting!” – Steph Almasi, Seasonal Horticulturist and Volunteer Program Assistant

“Zone days allow us to focus on tasks we have been keeping track of with people who are just as passionate about this work as we are. Having volunteers brings in extra hands and also teaches us different perspectives – from their experience to outside views on the parks. I love keeping track of my zone and maintaining this specific space for set days in the week. I have a different eye for how I view these spaces and am always eager to improve it in any way that I can.” – Nicole Semeraro, Seasonal Horticulturist

“The Wharf Zone is unique on The Greenway in that all of the plants are native to the New England area. This makes working in the zone really enjoyable as visitors are often delighted to learn that a favorite tree or flower can be found locally in the wild. Cathy and Mary Beth, the two volunteers I work with, are really knowledgeable as they grow some of the same plants in their own backyards!” – Dylan Barrett-Smith, Seasonal Horticulturist

North End zone volunteers Nancy Totton and Bonnie Thrysellius.

“Bonnie and I have been working together in the North End zone for the last two seasons. She’s been volunteering with us as part of our individual volunteer program for as long as I’ve worked here – she also volunteers in our Demo Garden and at our regular group events, so she knows the park, especially our zone, like the back of her hand! Bonnie is incredibly knowledgeable on all things horticulture, and on top of her dedication and passion for The Greenway, she works for a landscape designer and is also the section coordinator at the Fenway Victory Gardens where she has an amazing garden plot! Our zone program wouldn’t be possible without our regular volunteers stepping up!” – Tori Hiney, Organic Plant Health Care Horticulturist

If you are ever in the park on a Monday or Tuesday morning, you’re sure to come across our Zone Garden staff and volunteers enjoying their day on The Greenway! To learn more about how you can get involved with The Greenway or our Zone Garden program, you can visit our website or reach out to Karla Noboa, Volunteer and Programs Coordinator, at volunteer@rosekennedygreenway.org.

“If you haven’t got a sign, you haven’t really got a business,” the entrepreneur Dave Waller told me as I began the research process for GLOW’s interpretive materials. As I delved further into the history of Fontaine’s Chicken, the Flying Yankee Diner and the other small family businesses showcased on The Greenway this summer, Waller’s assertion rang true.

Each sign is the glowing embodiment of one person, family, or business group’s ambition, focus and energy; each one a testimony to the distinctive identity of Bay State entrepreneurship. Waller, who owns and runs the visual effects company Brickyard VFX, has long been drawn to commercial ephemera: he started collecting small tin business signs at the age of nine. In his twenties, armed with a rusty pickup truck, he began acquiring the old neon signs that were then out of fashion and destined for the scrap yard. Together, Dave and his wife, graphic designer Lynn Waller, have amassed one of the largest and most significant collections of neon signs in America.

A young Dave and Lynn WallerCourtesy: Dave & Lynn Waller

The Wallers live in an old firehouse in Malden and they have been living and working among most of the signs in GLOW for decades. In fact, the Siesta Motel sign was one of the first large-scale neon signs in their collection. As they added to the collection, the Wallers mounted most of the signs on the interior walls of their home. Seeing the signs on The Greenway, Dave marveled, allows all of us to see them as they were originally intended to be seen. Unlike the predictable backlit panels used to advertise big box stores today, the “crazy cool shapes” of neon signs like the Siesta sombrero or Fontaine’s Chicken pop brilliantly against the night sky. (And yes, Dave confided, the walls of his house do feel rather bare without the enormous signs).

Fontaines ChickenCredit: Rich Colicchio

Significant restoration work was required to get all eight of the signs in GLOW operational again. Both Dave and Lynn put in an enormous amount of work wiring, welding, and coordinating the replacement of broken glass tubing. The tubing was restored by the last working neon shop in Boston, Neon Williams, which has ties back to the venerable CITGO sign. Most of the signs required structural bracing, a feat accomplished by SignArt in Malden, which also installed the signs on the Greenway. For Dave, there is simply no competition between neon and other forms of illuminated signage. Neon alone has a mysterious, alluring glow, a magic which has never been duplicated in other light media. Neon, he points out, draws you in rather than casting light out on the world around it. In the dark, each neon sign is a world unto itself. The illusion created by neon in the dark makes it possible to believe, even just for a second, that a giant bicyclist is pedaling in the sky above Route 9 in Needham, or that a Southwestern escape might plausibly exist by the side of the Saugus Strip.

Cycle CenterCredit: Rich Colicchio

Both Dave and Lynn have enjoyed the thrill of discovering new signs in their travels, especially in New England, but also in other regions such as the Pacific Northwest or American Southwest. The Waller’s collection is a testament to the creativity and energy of New England entrepreneurs. As Dave pointed out, in Boston you don’t even have to have a car to enjoy neon signage: you can walk around GLOW. Or, try a mosey around downtown Lynn, or even view the restored American Airlines logo inside Terminal B at Logan Airport . However you choose to explore the world around you, neon offers the thrill of the unexpected.

For many park users, The Greenway is their piece of mother nature in a big, bustling city. For these reasons we were honored to act as the local caretakers with the honor of receiving the Boston Children’s Museum’s “Love Letters to the Earth”.

During April vacation week, when Boston’s floral and fauna were waking up from a long winter’s rest, the Boston Children’s Museum invited children to write notes to the earth as a way to say “thank you” and share what they were grateful for from the earth. The postcards were dropped off to us as a local Earth representative; a role we are thrilled to play! Thank you for the Boston Children’s Museum for recognizing our work and below you’ll find a few of our favorites.

“Dear Earth, Thank you for the air, water, trees, animals, flowers, mountains, life. I will help keep you healthy.”

“My Earth…. My Love. Rain-snow-sunshine-flowers-trees-smiles.”

“Dear Earth, I love how the seasons change and how you are so beautiful.”

Today in the North End, the Carolyn Lynch Garden on The Greenway opens to the public! Though the renovation area is no longer fenced off, improvements will continue for the next few weeks as we install new furniture and planters, and introduce additional plants to the boxwood garden beds.

Iris siberica will be featured in the boxwood beds

The Carolyn Lynch Garden on The Greenway is designed with an array of bright colors, seasonal blooms and a rich diversity of textures, heights and personalities. The garden’s design is in keeping with the European-style of the original park design, including the boxwood hedges carried over from the adjacent park across Hanover Street. These formal influences are tempered with robust perennial and shrub plantings, spilling to the edges of the boxwood.

Spring daffodils, alliums, and species tulips are inspired by Carolyn’s tulip beds in Ireland, while thistle-like plants, including Eryngium (Sea Holly) and Dipsacus (Teasel), were borrowed from her Massachusetts garden. Sequenced color drifts tie together the flowering shrubs, summer perennials, and assorted fall fruits and seed pods. The southern side of the garden transitions into soft slopes of ornamental grasses. Deschampsia, Panicum, and Miscanthus combine with a scattering of tall perennials to create gentle, moving meadow.

Echinacea will all be featured

The Carolyn Lynch Garden on The Greenway was renovated and endowed with the generous support of The Lynch Foundation, the garden will be dedicated to Carolyn Hoff Lynch, an avid gardener and a leading philanthropist. The renovations follow our 2015 North End Improvement Project, which replanted the boxwood garden on the other side of Hanover Street.